#2 Creighton Refresher
Creighton landed as the two-seed in the Big East Tournament after finishing the conference slate with a 15-5 record. Most of Creighton’s conference losses (excluding at Georgetown) occurred against NCAA Tournament hopefuls or locks, and most of their conference losses (excluding against UConn) were at the opponent’s venue. Creighton did not lose to any Big East team seeded lower than seventh and finished with a record of 8-2 against their side of the bracket.
Creighton is led by two-headed monster of senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner and senior guard Steven Ashworth. These two have combined for 46.4% of Creighton scoring this year, with Kalkbrenner averaging 19.4 points per game and Ashworth averaging 16.8 points per game of his own. Both players have different skills but similar impact on the game. Kalkbrenner leads the team in blocks this season with 80 in 30 games, good for an average of 2.7 per game, which won him his fourth consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year award. Ashworth, in comparison, has attempted 255 three-pointers this year and made 97, converting at a 38.0% clip, and has dished out a league-leading 211 assists, good for 7.0 per game.
Creighton has had 10 different players appear in at least one start this year, but have had a consistent starting lineup since the new year. This lineup includes Kalkbrenner and Ashworth, but also senior guard/forward Jamiya Neal, freshman forward Jackson McAndrew and sophomore forward Jasen Green. Neal is a slashing guard who leads the team in steals this season, but is also second in rebounding and second in assists per game. McAndrew is a 6-foot-10 forward who can drill the ball from distance, hitting threes at a 36.0% clip this season. Green has the least starting experience out of the group, but has been turning it on recently, averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 76.0% from two in his last ten games.
Off the bench, sophomore forward Isaac Traudt leads the non-starters in points per game with 5.1, and is first on the team in three-point percentage with 38.9% in 16.6 minutes per game. Freshman guard Fedor Zugic provides 4.1 points per game and 1.7 rebounds per game in his 11.3 minutes per game. Junior center Fredrick King, in just 6.7 minutes per game, is averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds. Junior forward Mason Miller is averaging 12.9 minutes per game and scoring 1.1 points per game, while freshman guard Ty Davis is averaging 0.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game in 7.5 minutes per game.
#3 UConn Preview
A potential semifinal matchup for the Jays, the UConn Huskies (22-9, 14-6) provided stiff competition for Creighton this year. While playing Connecticut in Storrs around mid-January, Creighton managed a 68-63 victory on the back of Neal with 24 points to lead all scorers. In Omaha around mid-February, a UConn team at full strength defeated Creighton 70-66 with a 38-point performance from freshman forward Liam McNeeley, who had been injured for much of the month of January.
These two teams have only played in the Big East Tournament once, with Creighton pulling out a 59-56 against UConn in the 2021 Big East Tournament Semifinals.
UConn used a nine-man rotation in their most recent game against a top-five seed (vs Marquette, March 5), but players like McNeeley, redshirt junior Alex Karaban, sophomore guard Solo Ball and graduate guard Hassan Diarra still logged 30+ minutes. These four are the major scorers in the starting lineup, with specific focus to the trio of Ball/Karaban/McNeeley, all averaging upwards of 14 points per game each. Diarra is a secondary scorer for UConn but still manages 8.0 points and 6.0 assists per game. Off the bench, junior center Tarris Reed Jr. manages double-figure scoring with 10.0 points per game in just 20.3 minutes per game. They are led by seventh-year head coach Dan Hurley.
#6 Villanova Preview
One of the other possible semifinal matchups for Creighton, the Villanova Wildcats (18-13, 11-9) were not able to beat Creighton but came close both in Omaha and Philadelphia. Creighton notched an 86-79 win in Omaha, led by 23 from Kalkbrenner, then were saved by a banked-in corner three-pointer from Ashworth in Philadelphia to win 62-60.
Creighton and Villanova have met three times in the Big East Tournament, last in the 2023 Quarterfinals, with Creighton winning 87-74.
Villanova used a seven-man rotation in their last game against Georgetown, but only six players were used for 20+ minutes. The big scorer for the Wildcats is graduate forward Eric Dixon, who is averaging 23.6 points per game, which leads the NCAA, in 34.8 minutes per game. Senior guard Wooga Poplar and senior guard Jordan Longino also average double-figures with 14.2 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. Graduate guard Jhamir Brickus also is important to mention because of his 47.4% three-point shooting which leads the team. The Wildcats are led by third-year head coach Kyle Neptune.
#7 Georgetown Preview
The betting favorite to play Creighton in the quarters, the Georgetown Hoyas (17-14, 8-12) won that first Big East game against Creighton in D.C. but lost the return game in Omaha much more recently. Georgetown’s victory was by a larger margin than Creighton’s win against the Hoyas, with Georgetown winning by 24 and Creighton by 11.
Georgetown has a perfect record against the Jays in the Big East Tournament, last winning against the Jays in the 2021 Big East Championship by a margin of 73-48.
Georgetown is down one of their stars, freshman forward/center Thomas Sorber, for the remainder of the season. As a result, Georgetown’s big time guards, like sophomore guard Malik Mack, junior guard Jayden Epps and graduate guard/forward Micah Peavy will have to carry Georgetown. Peavy is the star of this group, leading the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game, second in assists with 111 and first in steals with 72. The Hoyas are led by second-year head coach Ed Cooley.
#10 DePaul Preview
The other potential quarterfinal opponent, the DePaul Blue Demons (13-18, 4-16) were swept by Creighton in the regular season. Creighton won the first matchup in Chicago, 73-49, and won in late February at the CHI Health Center Omaha 75-65. DePaul has not beaten Creighton in any capacity since 2015.
DePaul and Creighton have met twice in the Big East Tournament, last resulting in a Creighton victory in the Big East First Round in 2015, 78-63.
DePaul has been injured recently. Redshirt junior guard Conor Enright is out for the season, plus graduate and junior forwards David Skogman have been out for extended time recently with injuries. This puts pressure on graduate guard CJ Gunn, graduate guard Isaiah Rivera and senior forward Troy D’Amico to produce more at the wings. Gunn and Rivera score 12.8 and 10.7 points per game, respectively, and both will have to produce to help DePaul in the Big East Tournament. They are led by first-year head coach Chris Holtmann.
#11 Seton Hall Preview
The Seton Hall Pirates (7-24, 2-18) were also swept by the Creighton Bluejays this season, with a Creighton win at the Pink Out game and a win in Newark on March 4, 79-61. Seton Hall is a potential semifinals opponent, and has a win against UConn this season, but only won two games away from home this season.
Creighton has just one game against Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament, that being an 81-73 loss in the 2016 Quarterfinals.
Seton Hall is led by sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman with 15.3 points per game and graduate guard Dylan Addae-Wusu with 10.0 points per game. In their last game against UConn, sophomore guard Garwey Dual and junior forward Prince Aligbe also had double-figures in the scoring column to make up for Addae-Wusu’s goose egg in Storrs. The Pirates are led by third-year head coach Shaheen Holloway.